


Rest

by Nativestar



Series: Sleepy Softness [3]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Insomni-mac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24324631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nativestar/pseuds/Nativestar
Summary: Mac gets back from visiting the Merchant, to find that he's not the only one struggling to sleep tonight.  Post 4x11 Psy-op + Cell + Merchant + Birds
Series: Sleepy Softness [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737925
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49





	Rest

Mac quietly shut the door behind him. His thoughts of being able to climb back into bed without anyone being any wiser were quickly scuppered by the soft sounds of the TV coming from the lounge.

Mac hung his head, he was caught between tiredness and insomnia. He was so weary of trying to deal with everything, screwing it up even more and then not even being able to get the rest he so desperately needed. His thoughts were never calm these days. Twisting and changing, different permutations of the same problem that was never solved. He wanted a break from it and he definitely didn’t want to sit with Desi while she tried her best to be there for him and get him to talk about it. He loved her but talking about the emotional stuff was neither of their strong suits.

However, he also couldn’t ignore her, so he walked towards the sound. The only light in the room was coming from the television itself so it took him a moment to realise it wasn’t Desi but Riley, curled up under a blanket and working on a tub of ice cream.

Riley held up a second spoon.

“Want some?”

Mac frowned. He was torn between feeling guilty that he must have woken her when he left and annoyance that she’d decided to wait up for him.

“Were you waiting--”

“No, I had my own insomnia to contend with. But I noticed your shoes and jacket were gone so I figured you’d turn up sooner or later.”

Mac nodded. He looked towards his bedroom door. It was where he _should_ go, back to Desi, back to at least an attempt at sleep, but he knew that would be a pointless exercise. He would just lie there, staring at the ceiling until he could pretend to be woken up by the alarm.

He sunk down into the sofa beside Riley, taking the spoon and a large scoop of ice cream from the tub. He made sure he got a good helping of the marshmallows and nuts.

“Hey! Leave some for me!” Riley teased.

“You had a head start.” Mac replied unrepentant.

Riley rearranged her blanket so it was covering them both and wedged the tub of ice cream in the middle so they both had easy access. She took her own large scoop of ice cream with a smile and Mac could feel her eyes lingering on him afterwards.

“What’re you watching?” He asked, deflecting the attention away from himself. He didn’t want to have to lie to Riley about where he’d been.

“One of those ‘How they make it’ documentaries. Its one I’ve seen before, remember when Jack made us all watch how they made cowboy hats? I figured watching a repeat might help me get back to sleep.” Riley shrugged. She was obviously having as much luck with her insomnia as Mac was.

“Wanna talk about it?” He offered.

“Not especially. Probably about as much as you want to talk about what has you up in the middle of the night.”

_Touche._

“What I want right now,” Mac said slowly, “is to eat ice cream and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.” He dragged the spoon through the ice cream, collecting a good sized marshmallow. “Just for a little while.” he murmured.

“I like the sound of that.”

Neither of them said anything as they watched their way  t hrough another episode.  Comfortable  in each other’s company  as s tainless steel, making motorbikes and  making paper  were explained on screen . It was probably very telling to Riley just how tired Mac was when he refrained from his usual commentary and random facts.

They were more than halfway through the tub when Riley took a deep breath and opened her mouth, paused, then closed it again before any words could escape. Mac resolutely kept his eyes on the television, pretending he hadn’t noticed.

“I had a dream.” Riley eventually said. “Something about today, I don’t know what, because it’s not like my experience in any way mirrored the set we made but I dreamt about being in prison. I was in a supermax again, and I tried to call you guys, to come get me out. But you didn’t know who I was. You all acted like you’d never met me. You, Bozer, Jack, Desi… none of you. I didn’t know how I was going to get out.”

M ac sometimes forgot how Riley had come to be a part of the team.  Her history .  She’d fit in so well, so quickly, even with the initial friction between her and Jack. Mac had seen some of her scars from that place when he’d gone undercover himself in a supermax, but Riley normally kept them so hidden.  She liked to talk about prison about as much as he and Jack liked to talk about Cairo.

“You did get out, Riley. You _are_ out. And none of us will ever let that happen to you again. If someone tried, I’d break you out myself. We’d go on the run together.” He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.

“Even if I were guilty?”

“Even then.” Mac promised. After all, she _had_ been guilty the first time they got her out.

“That actually sounds kinda fun.” She said, relaxing against him. “Thanks.”

Mac grinned,  now there was a thought. G oing on the run, with Riley by his side.  They’d be unstoppable.  No codex, no responsibilities, no choosing who lives or dies.  It was a freedom he  wished he was allowed.  A freedom he wished he  could allow  _himself_ . But h e couldn’t turn his back on everything.  It wasn’t how he was wired.

In the dim light, shadows danced across Riley’s face and Mac wondered if they hid his own or made them worse.

* * *

Desi discovered them on the sofa in the early morning, Mac’s arm still around Riley who had her head resting on his shoulder. She didn’t disturb them, smiling fondly. Instead, she turned the off the television and quickly snapped a photo of them on her phone. Her smile faded when she checked the photo though, suddenly with a second glance she didn’t see something to tease them about, but two exhausted friends who’d had to deal with far too much recently.

She silently gathered up the melted ice cream and spoons and headed to the kitchen as she started to compose a text message. She wasn’t much of a cook but she could handle breakfast by herself.

Well, nearly by herself.

_I need your waffle recipe, Bozer._


End file.
